


we're just lost souls (we know who we are)

by thunderstorm_skald



Category: Original Work
Genre: Air Force, Airports, Australia, Character(s) of Color, Found Family, Gen, Road Trips, Seattle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 02:59:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19220203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderstorm_skald/pseuds/thunderstorm_skald
Summary: Rei is twenty-one and a mechanic and moving across the world in search of a job, her brother, and to maybe make something of herself along the way. Met is twenty-three and just trying to wade through her undergrad. Wes, the brother in question, and Noah, fresh out of the air force, are twenty-four, and doing their best to make it one day at a time. And Lux and Mercer are twenty-five and dealing with their shit on top of everyone else's.Or: six twenty-somethings live and struggle and work and fight and become family in Seattle.





	we're just lost souls (we know who we are)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Millennial Wars: The Way Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12434037) by [fihli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fihli/pseuds/fihli). 



Freia Rohan Elias doesn’t hate Adelaide. Hell, she doesn’t hate _Australia_. She fucking _loves_ Australia. She loves her dual citizenship she hasn’t used since she was twelve, she loves the bushland, she loves running from the magpies during Swooping Season, she loves her mechanics program, she loves her music production class, she loves her apartment behind the coffee shop she is assistant manager at, she loves the accent she’s gained in the past eight years, she loves her Bachelor’s diploma she got earlier today.

Rei doesn’t hate Australia. She hates her bosses, her under-paying auto shop job, and her dad.

Or, rather, she hates that her dad _fucking left her in Australia_. But really, things would have gone better had she not looked like a homeless, starving child, even at fifteen, or had she had friends. _Someone_. Rei’s permanent scowl and prickly exterior left her struggling to get a job and a place to crash, until she got hired—illegally—first by an auto mechanic, then a coffee shop owner and given a tiny apartment in a renovated storage closet. She managed to scrape together a living but no friends, which just about summarized herself, her father, and her brother.

When she was old enough to legally drink, she would curl up in her sleeping bag with a bag of cheezles and an Irish coffee and watch pirated episodes of National Geographic, and think, _Who gives a fuck? People are shit anyway_.

So no. She doesn’t hate anything about Australia. She hates that she is _in Australia in the first fucking place._

Which is why she is currently hungover and sitting in Gate 14 of the Adelaide airport at not even 6 in the morning. Her duffel bag is secure between her legs, her backpack on her lap, and her guitar in baggage check, hopefully making the same three connections she will be. She left a voicemail with her bosses at the auto shop and the coffee place at four in the morning last night, drunk on shit beer and adrenaline. And then she had packed her bags, booked the cheapest flight, and sent off a text to Wes.

Her older brother was, among other things, irritating, secretive, angst-ridden, a bogan, and prone to going dark as soon as things went sideways. This did not make him a good texter. Rei took a risk, drunk and angry, and decided she would leave no matter what.

_Hey mate i dunno if this is even ur number or if ur still in seattle anymore, but i am done with straya and i'm not going back to nyc or lv or wherever tf dad is rn bc who tf would wanna do that so i’m going to seattle and idk wtf im gonna do but i'm going anyway_

The last text she sent him was almost ten months ago, a brief “Happy birthday!” he never responded to. So it came as a surprise when she got a reply a few hours later. She didn’t know what time it was wherever he was. Afternoon if he was in Seattle still, but she wasn’t going to question it. The only thing that mattered was the text.

Text me when you get in

Rei stands up when her flight starts boarding and clenches the first of five boarding passes in her pocket, her South Australia driver’s license, and her Australian passport. She brought her American one, too, but she’s lost almost all of the flat, Nevadan, non-accent since she’s been here. She shuffles groggily into the haphazard line forming with her duffel bag over one shoulder and her backpack over the other. The white cast on her right arm makes it hard to keep a decent grip on anything right now, and the gate attendant grimaces in sympathy when she almost drops her paperwork.

“One’a those fuckin’ days,” Rei mutters. The attendant huffs a laugh, scanning her boarding pass and stamping her passport.

“Enjoy your flight,” he says. Rei scowls and stomps down the boarding ramp to the plane.

If her father hadn’t been a pilot when he was young, Rei probably would have. Pettiness led her to pursue mechanics, but even that was something he did. Music was hers, though. He didn’t have anything to do with music, really. He was in a shitty garage grunge band in high school, but that _didn’t fucking count_ because it was a shitty garage grunge band and it wasn’t anything _at all_ like professional music production.

She avoids eye contact as she makes her way down the aisle, stopping at an empty row and hefting her duffel bag into the overhead compartment, then takes the window seat. Rei shoves her faded olive-drab military backpack under the seat in front of her and unwinds her earbuds from around her phone.

The first of five planes takes off to a 1975 song.

∆∇∆

Almost forty-eight hours later, her final plane lands in Seattle. It is 8:29 P.M. local time and Rei wants a shower. She managed to sleep through three of her flights with her beat-up pillow and her too-big sweater she stole from one of her ex-girlfriends.

She stops at a Starbucks for a grande java chip frapp with two shots of espresso. While she’s waiting, she pulls out her beat-up iPhone 6 and texts Wes.

_I’m at seatac_

She gets a response immediately after, then has to juggle her phone, wallet, and duffel strap with her cast as the barista calls out her name. She slings her duffel bag over her shoulder and shoves her wallet into her back pocket, snagging her frappuccino from the counter with her left hand. As she unlocks her phone clumsily, she makes her way to baggage claim, checking the signs for Los Angeles Oversized Items. Her guitar in its scuffed black case and the saguaro stencil spray-painted onto it comes around. Rei slips her phone into her front pocket and she snags it, passing her frapp to her right hand.

When she turns around, she accidentally shoulder-checks someone hard, sending him crashing to the ground. The two of them swear and the man drapes an arm across his face from where he is laying on the floor, letting out a long groan.

“ _Shit_. You alright, mate?”

The man is wearing an olive-drab jumpsuit with the sleeves tied around the waist with a plain white tee-shirt tucked into it. Rei wears something similar at the auto shop, she marks, and wonders if he’s a mechanic as well. He’s got tan combat boots on and curly dark hair buzzed at the sides. _Military_ , Rei thinks absently. _Probably Air Force_. Which only makes this ten times worse.

“Yeah,” he says finally, sitting up. He’s got an open face with big brown eyes and a winning smile and Rei immediately wants to scream. Pretty boys are her fucking weakness and she is not here to try and fuck _anyone_. Yet. “Yeah!” he reiterates, more confidently, biting his lip as he looks her up and down. Rei clenches her jaw, scowling at him. “I’m sorry, that was on me,” he tells her, standing up. “I totally wasn’t watching where I was going.” Rei’s scowl deepens.

“I fuckin’ _decked_ you, mate,” she says to him, tightening her grip on her guitar handle. He shrugs, then extends his right hand to her, almost reflexively.

“Still,” he smiles, “I’m sorry.” Rei regards his hand, unwilling to set her things down. He drops it, unphased. “I’m Noah D’Avila-Harmaajärvi.” He pronounces his last name “Harr-ma-YAR-vee,” and Rei raises an eyebrow. “It’s Finnish,” he explains at her expression. “I thought about changing it, but I like it.” He laughs, picking up a backpack like hers from the floor. Rei’s phone buzzes again and she reluctantly puts her guitar case on the floor. She pulls her phone out and taps to her text app. “So. Australian?”

“Yes. You?” She’s trying, but she wants him to leave her alone so she can text her brother.

“Finnish.” He smiles that beaming smile again and Rei scowls. “I live here, though.”

“So does my bogan of a brother,” she says, distractedly.

_Leaving now_

Rei relaxes slightly, then looks right below it, at the most confusing text she’s ever received.

_Hi, Rei! I’m Met, Kyas’s ex-roommate. He’s driving and since he’s a shitty driver when he’s not texting, I decided to save both our and Lyra’s lives, so it’s a good time. I didn’t know you existed until fifteen minutes ago, because he’s a bitch, so that's cute!_

The text is followed by a line of upside-down smiley face emojis, and it takes Rei a few moments to fully comprehend it.

“Are you okay?” Noah asks. Rei glares up at him, not realizing he was still there.

“What the fuck.” She reads the text again. “The fuck are Met, Ky-ass, and Lyra?” she demands. Noah blinks at her.

“Say again?” Rei shoves her phone at him.

“What the _fuck?_ ” She shakes her head. “What the fuck.” Noah reads the text a few more times, taking her phone from her hand. He stares up at her and she elaborates. “My brother doesn’t fucking use emojis or exclamation marks and he would _never fucking room with someone Jesus fucking Christ_.” Noah laughs, slightly hysterical.

“You know Met?” he demands, laughing some more. “Met Nimr is texting you from Kyas’s phone about my fucking dog.” Rei snatches her phone back, texting back three question marks.

“Who the _fuck_ is Ky-is?” she demands in turn, pronouncing it like him.

“Who _are_ you?” Noah steps closer to Rei and she clenches her jaw.

“Do you know Wes fuckin’ Elias, cunt?” She’s reverted to name-calling and it’s petty, but effective. Noah laughs again, carding a hand through his hair.

“You cannot fucking be Wes Elias’s sister. He doesn’t _have_ a sister! You’re _Australian_!” They are getting nowhere.

“ _Who the fuck is Kyas_.”

Rei moves closer to Noah, eyes narrowing. He takes a deep breath, straightening enough to look composed. Rei’s gambled enough to know the look in someone’s eyes that tells her he is one wild card away from folding and getting drunk enough to forget what he’s lost.

“Wes Elias,” he manages. “It’s an inside joke. I’m pretty sure it was Mercer or Lux who—“

“My brother has a nickname.” Rei holds Noah’s gaze. “My brother who _you know._ ” Noah holds his hands up to his shoulders, and is about to say something defensive when Rei cuts him off. “You’ve got thirty seconds to explain or I am going to dropkick you.”

Noah grins at her. “This is news to you, isn’t it?” Rei glares at him. “Alright, alright!” He laughs. “I was roommates with this dude Lux who met him at a metal concert or some shit, like, four years ago. All I know is that he was living in some tiny mountain town and doesn’t like to talk about anything before he came to Seattle.” Rei jerks her chin outside to the passenger pick-up zone and Noah picks up her guitar, falling into step beside her. “You’ll meet Lux if you decide to stay.” He gives her a hopeful look, puppy-dog eyes included. “You’re gonna stay, right?”

For a brief moment, Rei is considering knocking him out with her guitar case and fucking blitzing with her Starbucks and her shit, and then thinks about sitting down on the nasty ground and sobbing for a bit, before settling on shoving the glass door to outside open with her shoulder and taking her first breath of Seattle air.

It is humid and crisp and cold. She knew when she left that she didn’t have enough warm clothes, but standing here, now, in Seattle, in _May_ , shivering slightly, the knowledge is cemented in her mind. The winter in Adelaide got _cold_ , but it was never _bitter_. She thinks she’s grateful for the change.

“I just need a ride into the city so I can book a hotel room.” Noah doesn’t take offense, instead, grinning at her under the harsh fluorescent light.

“Ready for a family reunion?” he asks, changing the subject. Rei scoffs, drinking her half-melted frapp and regretting getting a cold drink as the wind cuts through her sweater and tee-shirt.

“I haven’t seen Wes in eight fuckin’ years,” she tells him. “He texts me when he’s drunk, and I text him when I’m drunk, and then we fuckin’ ghost each other.” Noah looks at her, pityingly, and Rei shifts away from him slightly. “Whatever. It’s not gonna be hard to get a job and a flat and find a decent bottle-o.” At this, Noah’s face lights up again.

“You should live with me!” he tells her. Rei gives him a skeptical look and he plows on. “I literally just got out of the Air Force today. They’re not paying for my apartment anymore, and I need someone to help pay rent and _you_ need somewhere to live!” Rei can’t help but acknowledge it’s a good idea, even if they just met.

“You don’t know anything about me,” she points out.

“You’re Rei Elias. You’re Australian. You’re Kyas’s sister, and you have a broken arm,” he counts off on his fingers. Rei rolls her eyes. “Come on. Even if it’s just for a few days.” Rei scuffs her work boots on the sidewalk, drinking some more of her frapp.

“Fine.”

Noah whoops victoriously and pulls her into a hug. Rei stiffens, arms out to her sides and uncomfortable. When Noah pulls away, he grins at her and she can’t help but smile back in relief.

“I’ve lived with all of my friends,” he tells her as she keeps drinking her frapp. “Lux was the most anal, and we only lasted a few months, but.” He shrugs and then swears as a car screeches into the parking space in front of them.

It is a red Honda Accord, 2013 or 2014, long scratches from being side-swiped down the passenger’s side, but in good shape otherwise. It could use a coat of paint, but if it’s Wes’s—and how the _hell_ did he get such a nice car? _Why_ would he get such a nice car?—he’d probably rather sit down for tea with their parents than let her touch it.

Rei stomps over to the trunk as it pops open, chucking her things into it and then slamming it closed. Noah drops to his knees as an Australian Sheepdog bolts out of the passenger’s door, bowling him over.

“Lyra!” he exclaims, letting the dog lick his face. “Did you miss me? Oh, you missed me! I missed you, too, buddy!” Rei rolls her eyes, then blinks as a short girl climbs out of the car.

She is dressed in a cream dress under a pink oversized off-the-shoulder sweater. She’s got a flower crown on over her dark curly hair and looks black, but with a facial bone structure that suggests Asian. She’s gorgeous, face lit up with gold highlight and Rei may have to hit Wes for having such pretty friends.

“Noah, please tell your dog to stop jumping out of the car and onto people,” she tells him, smiling. Noah stands up, pulling the girl into a hug.

“Met!” he grins, holding her out by the shoulders. She shoves him playfully and Noah turns to Rei. “This is Met, and my best girl, Lyra.” The sheepdog wags her tail and the girl holds out her hand to shake Rei’s.

“Noah doesn’t love anyone more than Lyra,” Met says, gently gripping Rei’s cast. “I’m Met Nimr. It’s great to finally meet the girl Kyas never shuts up about!” Rei gives her a skeptical look, dropping her arm. Met scoffs as Noah coaxes Lyra into the backseat with him. “Your brother doesn’t talk about his family, like, at all. Didn’t know you existed until about an hour ago.” Met smiles at her, eyes crinkling at the corners, then climbs into the back seat next to Lyra. “Any other Eliases you haven’t mentioned?”

“Fuck off,” a deep voice says.

Rei gets into the front seat, closing the door, then turning to look at Wes for the first time since she was twelve. He stops glaring at Met, then takes in Rei himself.

He’s gotten taller, and older. His jaw and cheekbones have sharpened, making him look more like their dad. The freckles across his face are all her and her mother, though. His eyes are darker than hers, and his wavy hair has grown out and dyed black. His ears have each been pierced with an industrial bar and Rei smugly notes he’s never grown into them.

“Get a car,” he tells her, and it’s his snarky fourteen-year-old self, an octave lower and surlier, but _this_ , Rei remembers.

“You dyed your hair,” she remarks. Behind them, Met whoops.

“You owe me twenty bucks, Harmaajärvi!” she tells him. There is a dramatic groan and Noah kicks Wes’s seat.

“I’m gonna tell Lux,” Noah says, leaning forward as Wes pulls out of the parking space. Wes stops a bit harder than necessary behind an idling Subaru.

“ _Lux_ ,” he replies with a bit more inflection than necessary, “has helped me dye it.” Rei buckles her seatbelt, watching his face. “Where were you?” he asks, changing the subject.

“I’m done serving active duty,” Noah says. “Got two-year Palace Chase, then I can either take the honorable discharge or go back into the field.” The car goes silent. Noah clears his throat and Rei turns to look at him. He grimaces. “The brass asked me if I wanted to pull another year and I just. Quit. I guess.”

“You quit?” Met asks. “Noah, you _love_ —“ He cuts her off.

“Yeah, well, it’s become less about flying and more about mission ops, and I never—“ he falls silent.

“Which is why you asked me to be your fucking flat mate,” Rei says, swirling her Frappuccino. Noah smiles apologetically, scratching Lyra behind the ears. Wes takes a hard right turn and looks at him in the rearview mirror.

“Hey, Noah. What the _fuck_?” Noah sticks his tongue out at Wes.

“I got a roommate,” Noah informs him, kicking his seat again. “She’s pretty cool, _Wes_ , but you wouldn’t fucking know.” Wes grimaces and sets his jaw the same way Rei does.

There is so much she wants to say, and even more she needs to say, but she settles on slurping up some more of her drink and crunching on the ice bits.

“Dad says hi.”

“This is why he left you in Australia,” he retorts. Rei laughs loudly and Wes’s lips twitch slightly. Rei counts it as her first victory and turns to look out the window.


End file.
